The publication Il Salvagente, which deals with consumer affairs, has an article (in Italian) on home exchange. While I've never done this sort of thing, I know people who have and who have been quite happy with it. It's obviously a way to drastically lower your expenses, possibly extend your stay, and see more of the real Italy and less of the tourist Italy.
What will be of special interest in the article, even if you don't know Italian, are the links they publish to five major home exchange sites. Good place to get started. You'll find them here.
(in the photo, a Scavolini kitchen)
